Hank Goldup, born in 1918, won his only Stanley Cup championship with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942. (Imperial Oil-Turofsky/HHOF)

It was the greatest comeback ever experienced in sport.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, with 23-year-old Hank Goldup now a key member of the on-ice lineup, faced their archrivals, the Detroit Red Wings, in the Stanley Cup final of 1941-42. Their respective general managers, Conn Smythe and Jack Adams, lived and died by the success of their teams, and this series evolved into one of the most memorable ever played in hockey's storied history.

Behind 3-2 going into the third period of Game One, Pete Langelle of the Maple Leafs scored what they thought was the tying goal, but referee King Clancy blew the play dead, disallowing the goal after calling a major penalty to Detroit's Jimmy Orlando for cutting Bob Goldham of the Leafs with a highstick. In spite of a seven minute powerplay, Toronto was unable to score and the game ended with a Red Wings win. Veteran Bob Davidson alternated with Hank Goldup on a line with Langelle and Johnny McCreedy.

Game Two was a clearcut Red Wing victory, with Detroit skating to a 4-2 win. Hank played the better part of the game, but was replaced by Davidson late in the contest as Toronto coach Hap Day looked to shake up his team.

Goldup didn't dress for Game Three, with Bob Davidson taking his spot on the wing. Toronto's Lorne Carr scored twice late in the first period but before the buzzer sounded to end the period, Detroit had rallied and tied the score. The hometown Wings scored twice in the second and added an insurance goal in the third to earn a 5-2 victory. Leading the best-of-seven series three games to none, Detroit was but one win away from the Stanley Cup with Game Four scheduled for the Detroit Olympia three nights later.

Neither Maple Leafs' coach Hap Day nor manager Conn Smythe were about to allow the Detroit Red Wings to sweep their team. For Game Four, they made wholesale changes. Young Don Metz was added and Hank Goldup was reinserted into the lineup while veterans Gordie Drillon and Bucko McDonald didn't dress, drastic moves made by a desperate team. But the strategy paid off  although the Red Wings leapt into a 2-0 lead in the second period, the Leafs roared back and tied the score by the end of that stanza. By the conclusion of the game, Toronto had squeaked out a 4-3 win.

Between 1939 and 1946, Hank Goldup scored 63 goals and 80 points for 143 points in 202 regular season NHL games. The season after this Stanley Cup win, Hank was traded to the New York Rangers. (Dave Sandford/HHOF)

Late in the game, Eddie Wares of the Wings swore at the referee and was handed a ten-minute misconduct, then refused to leave the ice surface. Then, when order was restored, the puck dropped only to show Detroit with seven players on the ice. They were issued a minor penalty. Don Grosso was ordered to serve the penalty and he threw down his stick and gloves in disgust and was subsequently fined.

Detroit's GM Jack Adams was so incensed by the refereeing that he ran out onto the ice after the game and charged referee Mel Harwood before being restrained by police amidst a reign of punches. Spectators repeatedly punched one of the linesmen as he left the ice and even league president Frank Calder had to be escorted out of the arena with a police escort. Adams was suspended for the remainder of the series.

Back at Maple Leaf Gardens for Game Five, the Leafs led 2-0 after the first and 7-0 after two periods with the game ending in a resounding 9-3 win. Hank Goldup was replaced by Gaye Stewart, who was called up for his first NHL game but didn't see any activity.

At the Olympia in Detroit for Game Six, the Toronto Maple Leafs evened the series with a 3-0 shutout over Detroit, forcing a seventh and deciding game back in Toronto.

On April 18, 1942, the final contest of the 1941-42 season was played. After a scoreless first period, the Red Wings scored early in the second to give Detroit a crucial 1-0 lead that held up going into the third period. Sweeney Schriner of the Leafs tied the game 1-1 with a powerplay marker. Then, three minutes later, Pete Langelle gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead. Schriner scored a shorthanded goal to crush the Detroit Red Wings and give the Toronto Maple Leafs the astonishing Stanley Cup victory, having rallied from a deficit of three games to none. The Leafs had completed the greatest comeback in sports history. Hank Goldup has his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup as a proud member of that legendary team.

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Having never before had the opportunity to drink out of the Stanley Cup, Hank Goldup got to do just that when the Stanley Cup visited Mississauga, Ontario where he now resides. (Mike Bolt)

Hank Goldup, eighty-six years old, took his turn with the Stanley Cup on Sunday, June 26. Now residing in The Village of Erin Meadows, a retirement home in Mississauga, Ontario, Hank was robbed of his speech after a stroke in 2002. But it certainly didn't dampen his spirit, and that was evident through the four hours Goldup spent with the Stanley Cup.

Approximating a Stanley Cup parade, the Ayr-Paris Band played 'When the Saints Go Marching In' as they led a convertible carrying Hank Goldup, wearing a vintage replica of the Toronto Maple Leafs sweater he would have worn during his three years with the team, in the front seat and his grandson Sean, the Stanley Cup's keeper Mike Bolt and the historic trophy in the backseat. With onlookers applauding enthusiastically, the entourage wound its way along the road that led to The Village of Erin of Meadows. There, Hank was wheeled into the retirement home.

With the help of sons Paul (left) and former NHL star Glenn (right), Hank Goldup hoisted the Stanley Cup, much to the delight of his children, grandchildren, friends and staff at The Village of Erin Meadows. (Mike Bolt)

Inside, the residence was appropriately decorated in blue and white balloons and ribbons. Residents and their families were invited to meet Hank Goldup, his family and the Stanley Cup. Sean pushed his grandfather into the library where Hank's children waited. Glenn, one of eight Goldup children, played in the NHL, too, with a career that took him from Montreal to Los Angeles in the 1970's. Glenn and his brother Paul lifted the Stanley Cup so that their Dad could sip water from the bowl. Hank was clearly thrilled and surprised everyone by whispering, "Stanley Cup. Stanley Cup." Then, with help from his boys, Hank Goldup raised the Stanley Cup over his head like a true champion.

Many guests arrived to visit Hank, starting with the staff of The Village of Erin Meadows, then followed by several others, including Hall of Fame Member Andy Bathgate, who at one time had employed Goldup.

Goldup played 202 regular season NHL games, scoring 63 goals and adding 80 assists for 143 points. During the summer of 1947, Hank suffered a badly-broken leg in a charity softball game. He never again played in the National Hockey League, but his career was recognized by induction into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and his hometown Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Although the Toronto Maple Leafs' 1942 rally may have been the great sporting comeback of all time, there could be few comebacks as satisfying as seeing the monstrous smile on the face of Stanley Cup champion Hank Goldup and hearing those whispered words  "Stanley Cup! Stanley Cup!"

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Al Dewsbury, born in 1926, won his only Stanley Cup championship with the Detroit Red Wings in 1950. (HHOF)

Al Dewsbury was just twenty years old when he made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings in 1946-47. On Monday, June 27, at the age of 79, he got his first opportunity to see his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

After a 23-game rookie campaign, 'Dews' played the entire 1947-48 regular season with the Red Wings' minor league affiliates in Indianapolis and Omaha. Detroit called the big defenseman up for one game  a tough, fight-filled contest against Toronto on April 11, 1948. The next season, 1948-49, was spent solely with the Indianapolis Capitals of the American Hockey League.

During 1949-50, Al split the season between the Capitals and the Red Wings. During the regular season, he played 11 games with Detroit, but was a key addition during the playoffs that spring. After Detroit eliminated the reigning Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs in the semi-finals, the Red Wings faced the New York Rangers for the Stanley Cup.

Al Dewsbury was summoned to join the team for Game Three of the final, April 15, 1950, and quickly made his presence known as he picked up an assist on George Gee's goal late in the first, and also picked up two minor penalties in a 4-0 Red Wing win. Although it was New York's home game, the contest was played in Toronto  a neutral site  because New York's Madison Square Garden was hosting the circus at that same time.

In Game Four, a 4-3 Ranger win in Detroit, Dewsbury picked up another penalty. Game Five saw the Rangers edge the Wings 2-1 with Al in the Detroit line-up. Detroit hosted again, for a third straight contest, in Game Six. Dewsbury earned an assist on Sid Abel's winning goal as the Red Wings edged New York 5-4 to set up a seventh game, do-or-die situation.

Al dressed for Game Seven at the Olympia in Detroit on April 23, 1950. The Rangers went up 2-0 in the first period to set Detroit back on their heels, but they rebounded with two goals in twenty-one seconds early in the second period; the second Wing goal scored by Sid Abel with an assist by Dewsbury. The teams then traded goals later that penalty to tie the score at three apiece.

No one scored in the third stanza, although Al let out a sigh of deep relief when his teammates killed off his minor penalty.

Overtime. First goal wins. Neither team scored in a hard-fought first overtime frame. Then, at 8:31 of the second overtime, Pete Babando fired a shot that Rangers' netminder Chuck Rayner didn't see and scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Detroit Red Wings! Al Dewsbury and his exhausted teammates celebrated. But Al never got the chance to even touch the Stanley Cup. Red Wings captain Sid Abel accepted the prestigious trophy from NHL president Clarence Campbell and that was it. No parade. No ceremony. No ring. No opportunity to enjoy the Cup for a day.

Al Dewsbury, now living in Richmond Hill, just outside of Toronto, got to live those dreams at last on June 27 at his son's home in Markham, Ontario. "It's thrilling to have the Cup here," he beamed. "It's the second biggest hockey moment for me next to winning the Cup. It's something I never would thought would happen. I feel I deserved it. It's something I helped Detroit win."

Al was especially delighted to get a photo of himself and grandson Quintin with the Stanley Cup. A number of friends and neighbours converged on the home of Al's son Phil and daughter-in-law Peggy.

The Dewsburys contacted the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Toronto & Central Ontario, who do such marvelous and heartwarming work, and offered the opportunity for a youngster facing a life-threatening illness to experience hockey's most cherished trophy up close and personal. "We've got just the candidate," they were told. Four-year-old Andrew and his Dad Allan, both huge hockey fans, arrived at the Markham home where the Stanley Cup was being displayed. It's tough to say whose smile was bigger  Andrew's, Allan's or Al Dewbury's! Andrew and his Dad got to spend some very special time together, looking at all the names and telling hockey stories. Andrew even found Al Dewsbury's name, right there with the Detroit Red Wings of 1950. "He is one of the nicest men you could ever want to meet," stated Allan, and Andrew nodded happily in agreement.

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Dewsbury scored 30 goals and assisted on 78 more during 347 regular season NHL games split between the Detroit Red Wings, where he earned this Stanley Cup victory in 1950, and the Chicago Blackhawks. Like Goldup, Dewsbury too was traded the season after winning the Stanley Cup. (Dave Sandford/HHOF)

Dewsbury spent parts of six seasons with the Blackhawks, then wound down his career in the American Hockey League. In 347 regular season NHL contests, he tallied 30 times, adding 78 assists for 108 points. The 6'2" defenseman also collected 365 penalty minutes. In 1959, Al played with the Belleville McFarlands who won the World Championship for Canada at the tournament in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Now, having long retired from hockey life and fifty-five years after he helped make Stanley Cup history, Al Dewsbury finally got to properly celebrate the Detroit Red Wings' Stanley Cup victory of 1950.

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Tuesday, the Stanley Cup Journal heads out to Saskatchewan, and a fabulous visit with Bryan Trottier and his family.

Kevin Shea is the Manager of Publishing and Editorial Services at the Hockey Hall of Fame.